National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Space Shuttle Weather Launch
Commit Criteria and KSC End of
Mission Weather Landing Criteria
T he launch weather guidelines involving the
space shuttle and expendable rockets are simi-
lar in many areas, but a distinction is made for the
individual characteristics of each. The criteria are
broadly conservative and assure avoidance of pos-
sibly adverse conditions.
For the space shuttle, weather forecasts are
provided by the U. S. Air Force Range Weather
Operations Facility at Cape Canaveral beginning
at launch-minus-3 days in coordination with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion (NOAA) National Weather Service Space
Flight Meteorology Group (SMG) at the Johnson
Space Center in Houston. These include weather
trends and their possible effects on launch day.
A formal prelaunch weather briefing is held on
launch-minus-2 days as a specific weather briefing
for all areas of space shuttle launch operations.
Launch weather forecasts, ground operations
forecasts, and launch weather briefings for the
mission management team and the space shuttle
launch director are prepared by the Range Weath-
er Operations Facility. Forecasts that apply after
launch are prepared by SMG. These include all
emergency landing forecasts and the end-of-mis-
sion forecasts briefed by SMG to the astronauts,
the flight director and mission management team.
During the countdown, formal weather brief-
ings occur approximately as follows:
• L-24 hr. 0 min. – Briefing for flight
director and astronauts
NASAfacts
• L-21 hr. 0 min. – Briefing for removal of
rotating service structure
• L-9 hr. 00 min. – Briefing for external tank
fuel loading
• L-4 hr 30 min. – Briefing for space shuttle
launch director
• L-3 hr. 55 min. – Briefing for astronauts
• L-2 hr. 10 min. – Briefing for flight
director
• L-0 hr. 35 min. – Briefing for launch and
Return to Launch Site (RTLS)
• L-0 hr. 13 min. – Poll all weather con-
straints
Basic weather launch commit
criteria on the pad at liftoff
Temperature: Prior to external tank propel-
lant loading, tanking will not begin if:
a. The 24-hour average temperature has been
below 41 degrees.
b. The temperature has fallen below 33 de-
grees at anytime during the previous 24 hours.
After tanking begins, the countdown shall not
be continued nor the shuttle launched if:
a.) The temperature exceeds 99 degrees for
more than 30 consecutive minutes.
b.) The temperature is lower than the pre-
scribed minimum value for longer than 30 minutes
unless sun angle, wind, temperature and relative
humidity conditions permit recovery.
The minimum temperature limit in degrees
Fahrenheit is specified by the table below and is a function of Precipitation
the five-minute average of temperature, wind and humidity. – None at the launch pad or within the flight path.
The table becomes applicable when the observed temperature
reaches 48 degrees. Lightning (and electric fields with
triggering potential)
Wind
Speed Relative Humidity – Tanking will not begin if there is forecast to be greater
(kts) 0-64% 65-74% 75-79% 80-89% 90-100% than a 20 percent chance of lightning within 5 nautical miles of
0-1 48 47 46 45 44
the launch pad during the first hour of tanking. The launch di-
rector, with the concurrence of the safety director, may make an
2 47 46 45 44 43
exception after consultation with the Shuttle Weather Officer.
3 41 41 41 40 39 – Do not launch when lightning is observed and the cloud
4 39 39 39 39 38 that produced the lightning is within 10 nautical miles of flight
5-7 38 38 38 38 38
path. Launch may not occur until 30 minutes has elapsed since
the lightning flash, or the cloud has moved more than 10 nauti-
8 - 14 37 37 37 37 37
cal miles away.
>14 36 36 36 36 36 – Do not launch if lightning has been detected with 10
nautical miles of the pad or the planned flight path within 30
The above table can be used to determine when conditions minutes prior to launch. Launch may occur if the source of
are again acceptable for launch if parameters have been out of lightning has moved more than 10 nautical miles away from the
limits for 30 minutes or less. If longer than 30 minutes, a math- pad or the flight path if there is a field mill, used to measure elec-
ematical recovery formula of the environmental conditions is tric fields, located within 5 nautical miles of the lightning flash,
used to determine if a return to acceptable parameters has been and if that field mill and the field mills located within 5 nautical
achieved. Launch conditions have been reached if the formula miles of the flight path have been less than 1 kilovolt per meter
reaches a positive value. for 15 minutes.
The one-minute average of the electric field mill network
Wind may not exceed -1 or +1 kilovolt per meter within 5 nautical
– For tanking, fueling will not begin if the wind is observed miles of the launch pad or the lightning flash at any time within
or forecast to exceed 42 knots for the next three-hour period. 15 minutes prior to launch. This field mill criteria becomes
– For launch, the allowable peak wind speed observed at -1.5 or + 1.5 kilovolts per meter if there are no clouds within 10
the 60-foot level of hte fixed service structure depends on the nautical miles of the flight path except those which are transpar-
wind directin and ranges from 19 to 34 knots. ent. Also excepted are clouds with tops below the 41 degrees F.
The upper atmosphere wind profile must conform to either temperature level that have not been previously associated with
one of two wind-loading programs developed by the Johnson a thunderstorm, or associated with convective clouds having
Space Center (JSC). This profile is determined by a series of tops above the 14 degrees F. temperature level during the last
Jimsphere wind-balloon releases from Cape Canaveral Air three hours.
Force Station. A final recommendation is made by the JSC
Launch Systems Evaluation Advisory Team to the KSC launch Clouds (types known to contain
director at launch-minus-30 minutes. The space shuttle will not hazardous electric fields)
be launched within 30 minutes of the time a determination has Cumulus Clouds: Do not launch through cumulus type
been made that the upper wind profile will adversely affect the clouds with tops higher than the 41 degree F. temperature
performance of the launch vehicle. level. Launch may occur through clouds with tops as cold as 23
The Shuttle Weather Officer will notify the mission man- degrees F. if the cloud is not producing precipitation, there is a
agement team for their consideration if the sustained wind in field mill within 2 nautical miles of the cloud, and this field mill
the solid rocket booster recovery area is forecast to exceed 26 and all field mills within 5 nautical miles of the flight path read
knots during retrieval operations or if swells will be in excess of between -100 volts per meter and +500 volts per meter for the
Sea State 5 (8 to 13 feet). past 15 minutes.

Space Shuttle Weather Launch Commit Criteria 2 NASA Facts

 - Do not launch through or within 5 nautical miles of the readings are between -1 kilovolt and + 1 kilovolt per meter with-
nearest edge of cumulus type clouds with tops higher than the in five nautical miles of the flight path for the past 15 minutes;
14 degree F level. 3) weather radar has detected less than 10 dbz of reflectivity in
- Do not launch through or within 10 nautical miles of the the debris cloud within 5 nautical miles of the flight path for 15
nearest edge of cumulus clouds with tops higher than the -4 minutes.
degrees F. level. Smoke Plume: Do not launch if the flight path will carry
Disturbed Weather: Do not launch if the flight path is the vehicle through any cumulus cloud that has developed from
through any non-transparent clouds that extend to altitudes a smoke plume while the cloud is attached to the plume, or for
at or above the 32 degrees F. level which are associated with the first 60 minutes after the cumulus cloud detaches from the
disturbed weather producing moderate or greater precipitation, smoke plume.
or melting precipitation, within five nautical miles of the flight
path. Range safety cloud ceiling and
Thick Clouds: Do not launch if any part of the planned visibility constraints
flight path is through a layer of clouds any part of which is – Direct visual observation of the shuttle is required
within 5 nautical miles is 4,500 feet thick or greater and the through 8,000 feet. This requirement may be satisfied using
temperature of any part of the layer is between 32 degrees F. and optical tracking sites or a forward observer.
-4 degrees F. Launch may occur if the cloud layer is a cirrus-like – A cloud ceiling of 6,000 feet is permitted for short-dura-
cloud that has never been associated with convective clouds, is tion launch windows if all required Range Safety instrumenta-
located entirely at temperatures of 5 degrees F. or colder, and tion systems are functioning.
shows no evidence of containing water droplets. – A cloud ceiling of 4,000 feet is permited if:
Anvil Cloud: Do not launch through an attached or a.) The cloud layers between 4,000 and 8,000 feet are
detached anvil cloud if it is determined to be electrified and not more than 500 feet thick.
could trigger a lightning strike by flight through the cloud as b.) The vehicle can be seen by the Eastern Range air-
contained in the launch criteria directives for Volume-Aver- borne and/or the ground forward observers through 8,000 feet
aged Height-Integrated Radar Reflectivity (VAHIRR). This and they can communicate with the Flight Control Officer.
specifies the distance, time, radar and field mill measurements A “Good Sense Rule” is in effect for launch, which states:
required to ensure safe flight. The condition of an anvil cloud “Even when constraints are not violated, if any oth-
must be evaluated for these criteria when it is within 10 nautical er hazardous conditions exist, the launch weather
miles of the launch pad. officer will report the threat to the launch director.
The launch director may hold at any time based on
Supporting Table: KSC Seasonal Altitudes of
Temperature Levels in thousands of feet the instability of the weather.”
January July Contingency Flight Rules
Temp Low Avg High Temp Low Avg High Required For Launch
-4 F 21 24 26 -4 F 23 27 29 Weather criteria for an emergency landing must be con-
14 13 18 21 14 18 21 23 sidered along with launch criteria since the possibility exists for
23 9 15 8 23 16 18 20
a Return To Launch Site abort (RTLS), landings at the Trans-
Oceanic Abort Landing Sites (TAL), the Abort Once Around
32 sfc 12 16 32 13 15 18
(AOA) sites and the first day Primary Landing Site (PLS). The
41 sfc 9 14 41 10 12 15 NOAA National Weather Service Space Flight Meteorology
Group in Houston prepares these forecasts and briefs the astro-
Debris Cloud: Do not launch if the flight path will carry nauts, flight director and mission management team. All crite-
the vehicle through a debris cloud which is not transparent and ria refer to observed and forecast weather conditions except for
less than three hours old. Launch may not occur within five the first day PLS, which is forecast weather only.
nautical miles of these debris clouds unless: 1) for 15 minutes – For RTLS with redundant Microwave Landing System
preceding launch there is at least one working field mill within (MLS) capability and a weather reconnaissance aircraft, cloud
five nautical miles of the debris cloud; 2) all electric field mill coverage 4/8 or less below 5,000 feet and a visibility of 4 statute

Space Shuttle Weather Launch Commit Criteria 3 NASA Facts

miles or greater are required. For AOA and PLS sites, cloud
coverage 4/8 or less below 8,000 feet and a visibility of 5 statute
miles or greater is required. For TAL sites, cloud coverage
4/8 or less below 5,000 feet and a visibility of 5 statute miles or
greater are required.
– For landing on a hard surface runway without redundant
Microwave Landing System capability, all sites require a ceil-
ing not less than 10,000 feet and a visibility of at least 7 statute
miles. Landing at night on a lake bed runway may occur if the
ceiling is not lower than 15,000 feet and the visibility is 7 miles
or greater with at least non-redundant MLS capability.
– For the RTLS site and TAL sites, no thunderstorms,
lightning or precipitation may be within 20 nautical miles of the
runway, or within 10 nautical miles of the final approach path
extending outward to 30 nautical miles from the end of the
runway.
– For RTLS and TAL sites, rain showers with the limits
listed above are acceptable if all the specific criteria listed below
are met:
a.) Adequate satellite, radar and aircraft surveillance are
available.
b.) No substantial increase in either coverage or intensity is
forecast.
c.) The observed and forecast horizontal movement of
individual rain showers and other weather features is linear or
near linear.
d.) The runway meets the landing/rollout criteria and the
navigational aid requirements specified in the prelaunch go/no
go requirements.
e.) For a minimum of two of the four available approach-
es, the orbiter shall not fly through precipitation and shall
maintain either a 10-nautical-mile lateral clearance or a 2-nauti-
cal-mile vertical clearance from any shower that:
Space Shuttle Weather Launch Commit Criteria 4 NASA Facts
1.) has moderate or greater precipitation, or
2.) has a cloud-top temperature colder than +5 degrees
Celsius (41 degrees F.) or
3.) has a cloud-top temperature colder than -10 degrees
Celsius (14 degrees F.) within 2.5 hours prior to launch.
– For RTLS and TAL sites, no detached opaque thunder-
storm anvils less than three hours old within 15 nautical miles of
the runway, or within 5 nautical miles of the final approach path
extending outward to 30 nautical miles from the end of the
runway.
– For RTLS, attached and detached thunderstorm anvils
within the above limits may be acceptable by utilizing the
Volume-Averaged Height-Integrated Radar Reflectivity (VA-
HIRR) criteria.
– For AOA and PLS sites, no thunderstorms, lightning or
precipitation within 30 nautical miles of the runway, or within
20 nautical miles of the final approach path extending to 30
nautical miles from the end of the runway.
– For AOA and PLS sites, no detached opaque thunder-
storm anvil cloud less than three hours old within 20 nautical
miles of the runway or within 10 nautical miles of the final ap-
proach path extending to 30 nautical miles from the end of the
runway.
– The RTLS, TAL, AOA and PLS crosswind component
may not exceed 15 knots. For RTLS, if the astronaut flying
weather reconnaissance in the Shuttle Training Aircraft flies the
approach and considers the landing conditions to be acceptable,
the daytime limit may be increased to 17 knots.
– Headwind: not to exceed 25 knots.
– Tailwind: not to exceed 10 knots average, 15 knots peak.
– Turbulence: conditions must be less than or equal to
moderate intensity.
 KSC End-of-Mission
Landing Weather Flight Rules
T he end of mission landing weather forecast is prepared by
the NOAA National Weather Service Space Flight Me-
teorology Group in Houston for the astronauts, flight director
and mission management team. All criteria refer to observed
and forecast weather conditions. Decision time for the de-orbit
burn is 70 - 90 minutes before landing. The weather criteria are
as follows:
– Cloud coverage of 4/8 or less below 8,000 feet and a vis-
ibility of 5 miles or greater are required.
– The peak crosswind cannot exceed 15 knots, 12 knots at
night. If the mission duration is greater than 20 days, the limit is
12 knots, day and night.
– Headwind cannot exceed 25 knots.
– Tailwind cannot exceed 10 knots average, 15 knots peak.
– No thunderstorm, lightning or precipitation activity is
within 30 nautical miles of the landing site.
– Detached opaque thunderstorm anvils less than three
hours old must not be within 20 nautical miles of the landing
site, or within 10 nautical miles of the flight path when the or-
biter is within 30 nautical miles of the runway.
– Turbulence must be less than or equal to moderate in-
tensity.
– Consideration may be given for landing with a “no go”
observation and a “go” forecast if, at decision time, analysis
clearly indicates a continuing trend of improving weather con-
ditions, and the forecast states that all weather criteria will be
met at landing time.
Weather instrumentation
The weather equipment used by the forecasters to develop
the launch and landing forecasts is below :
• Radar. Launch forecasters located at Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station and landing forecasters located in Houston
can access displays from two different radars. One is located
at Patrick Air Force Base near Cocoa Beach, Fla. The other,
located in Melbourne, Fla., at the NOAA National Weather
Service, is a NEXRAD Doppler radar. Each radar provides
rain intensity and cloud-top information out to a distance as far
as 200 nautical miles. The NEXRAD radar can also provide
estimates of total rainfall and radial wind velocities.
• Launch Pad Lightning Warning System (Field Mill
Network). Thirty-one advanced field mill sites around KSC
Space Shuttle Weather Launch Commit Criteria 5 NASA Facts
and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station provide data on lightning
activity and surface electric fields induced by charge aloft. This
data helps forecasters determine when electric charge aloft may
be sufficient to create triggered lightning during launch, and
to determine when to issue and cancel lightning advisories and
warnings.
• Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Surveillance System
(CGLSS). The system detects and plots cloud-to-ground
lightning strikes within 125 nautical miles of the Kennedy Space
Center. Location accuracy is optimum within 30 nautical miles.
Locations of strikes are color coded according to time of occur-
rence.
• Lightning Detection And Ranging (LDAR). De-
veloped by NASA at the Kennedy Space Center, LDAR plots
intracloud, cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning in
three dimensions within 60 nautical miles of the Kennedy Space
Center. Location accuracy is very high within 25 nautical miles.
LDAR data is important in determining the beginning and end
of lightning conditions.
• National Lightning Detection Network. This
equipment plots cloud-to-ground lightning nationwide. It is
used to help ensure safe transit of the space shuttle orbiter atop
the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft between Edwards Air Force Base
in California and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is
also used to assess lightning beyond the 125-mile range of the
Lightning Detection System.
• Rawinsonde. This is a GPS-tracked weather balloon
having a tethered instrument package that radios its altitude to
the ground together with temperature, dewpoint and humidity,
wind speed and direction. Rawinsondes reach altitudes exceed-
ing 100,000 feet.
• Jimsphere balloon. A reflective balloon made of my-
lar tracked by radar, which provides highly accurate information
on wind speed and wind direction up to 60,000 feet.
• Weather Reconnaissance Aircraft. A T-38 jet and
the Shuttle Training Aircraft are flown by an astronaut to
observe actual conditions for evaluation by the Shuttle Weather
Officer, a weather support astronaut located in the firing room
with the mission management team, and the Space Flight Me-
teorology Group in Houston.
• 50 MHz Doppler Radar Wind Profiler. This profiler
is located at the Shuttle Landing Facility and measures upper
level wind speed and direction over Kennedy Space Center
from approximately 7,000 feet to 60,000 feet. The data, received
every 3 to 5 minutes, is used to ensure the upper winds used to
calculate wind loads on the shuttle vehicle have not significantly
changed between balloon soundings. If data from the Doppler
Radar Wind Profiler indicates a possible significant change,
another Jimsphere balloon is released.
• 915 MHz Doppler Radar Wind Profiler Network:
A system of five wind profilers located on Kennedy Space
Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station provide measure-
ments every 15 minutes of the wind speed and direction from
approximately 300 to 10,000 feet. These are used to forecast
conditions favorable for development of showers and thun-
derstorms, and to help assess Range Safety launch and flight
constraints. The profiler located near the shuttle launch pads
can ensure the lower level winds used to calculate wind effects
on the vehicle have not significantly changed between balloon
soundings. The profilers located at each end of the Shuttle
Landing Facility runway are used to assist in the assessment of
the landing winds for the orbiter.
• Satellite Images and Data. These are provided direct-
ly to the satellite terminal at USAF Range Weather Operations
and NOAA National Weather Service Space Flight Meteorol-
ogy Group in Houston by the geostationary GOES weather
satellites. In addition high resolution images are received from
spacecraft in low earth orbit including both the NOAA and
the Defense Meteorological Support Program (DMSP) polar
orbiting satellites.
• Meteorological Interactive Data Display System
(MIDDS). This system integrates diverse weather data on a
Space Shuttle Weather Launch Commit Criteria 6 NASA Facts
single display terminal — satellite images, radar, computer-gen-
erated graphics of surface and upper-air map features, numerical
weather models, current weather observations, data from me-
teorological towers, lightning strikes and field mill information.
• Towers. There are 33 meteorological towers located
on Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Sta-
tion, including two at each launch pad and three at the Shuttle
Landing Facility. In addition to wind, most towers are also
instrumented with temperature and moisture sensors.
The 60-foot towers at the launch pads and the 33-foot
towers at the Shuttle Landing Facility are closely monitored
for launch and landing criteria. There are also four 200-foot
instrumented weather towers and one 500-foot tower that relay
weather data at various heights.
In addition, on the mainland, there is a network of 19 wind
towers that extend outward an additional 20 miles. Tower data
is an important short-term forecasting tool and also helps deter-
mine the direction and distance of toxic corridors in the event
of a mishap.
• Buoys. Meteorological buoys are anchored in the
Atlantic Ocean 20 nautical miles east of Cape Canaveral and
120 nautical miles east of Ponce De Leon Inlet in Florida. These
buoys relay hourly measurements via satellite of temperature,
wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, precipitation,
sea water temperature, wave height and period. Buoy data is
used for launch, landing, solid rocket booster retrieval and daily
operational weather forecasts for the Kennedy Space Center
and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
• Solid Rocket Booster Retrieval Ships. These ves-
sels radio observed weather conditions and sea state from the
booster impact area located 140 nautical miles downrange.
• Weather Reconnaissance Aircraft. A T-38 jet and
the Shuttle Training Aircraft are flown by a weather-support
astronaut.
05/31/2002 – Space Shuttle Endeavour is poised for launch at Pad 39A after mission managers postponed today’s scheduled launch
of mission STS-111. Forecasters’ predictions that weather would prohibit a launch attempt due to severe thunderstorms and rain
showers within the vicinity of the launch pad were accurate as depicted by the raindrops obscuring the photographer’s view.

This and other KSC fact sheets and publications can be found on the
Web at:
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/docs.htm

Space Shuttle Weather Launch Commit Criteria 7 NASA Facts

 A powerful electrical storm created an eerie tapestry of light in the skies near Space Shuttle Launch Complex
39A in the hours preceding the launch of Challenger on mission STS-8 at 2:32 a.m. EDT. Driving rains and the
dazzling lightning display ceased after this photograph was taken by a remote camera set up by Sam Walton of
United Press International and mission officials were able to proceed with the launch.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 32899

www.nasa.gov

FS-2006-06-020-KSC (Rev. November 2006) 8 NASA Facts